• Climate Change-Driven Water Crises More Severe Than Previously Thought

    The interference of climate change with the planet’s water cycle is a well established fact. New analyses suggest that in many places, runoff responds more sensitively than previously assumed.

  • Western Wildfires Destroyed 246% More Homes and Buildings Over the Past Decade

    It can be tempting to think that the recent wildfire disasters in communities across the West were unlucky, one-off events, but evidence is accumulating that points to a trend. In nearly every Western state, more homes and buildings were destroyed by wildfire over the past decade than the decade before, revealing increasing vulnerability to wildfire disasters.

  • There’s a Deal to Save the Colorado River — If California Doesn’t Blow It Up

    After months of tense negotiation, a half-dozen states have reached an agreement to drastically cut their water usage and stabilize the drought-stricken Colorado River — as long as California doesn’t blow up the deal. The plan would cut water use on the river by roughly a quarter, drying up farms and subdivisions across the Southwest.

  • Rats Sniff for Victims Under Rubble

    Rats are commonly known as pests and spreaders of disease and many people’s worst nightmare. Yet they are very clever creatures, and can be trained just as well as dogs. Researchers train African hamster rats to search for earthquake victims under rubble.

  • FloodNet Tracking System Set for Expansion Across All Five NYC Boroughs

    FloodNet, the first-ever New York City flood-monitoring network, has received $7.2 million in city funding that will greatly increase the number of monitored flood-prone locations from 31 to 500 over the next five years. The network expansion is slated to begin in February.

  • Exxon Disputed Climate Findings for Years. Its Scientists Knew Better.

    Projections created internally by ExxonMobil starting in the late 1970s on the impact of fossil fuels on climate change were very accurate, even surpassing those of some academic and governmental scientists. The oil company executives sought to mislead the public about the industry’s role in climate change, contradicting the findings of the company’s own scientists and drawing a growing number of lawsuits by states and cities.

  • Doomsday Clock Set at 90 Seconds to Midnight

    The Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight, due largely but not exclusively to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increased risk of nuclear escalation. The new Clock time was also influenced by continuing threats posed by the climate crisis and the breakdown of global norms and institutions needed to mitigate risks associated with advancing technologies and biological threats.

  • Half of U.S. Coastal Communities Underestimate Sea Level Risks

    Many communities in the United States underestimate how much sea level will rise in their area, according to a new study. In many cases, especially in Southern states, local policymakers rely on one average estimate of sea level rise for their area rather than accounting for more extreme scenarios.

  • Sea Change for Hull

    With a changing climate and rising sea levels putting cities at risk of flooding, it’s crucial for planners to increase their cities’ resilience. A new tool has been developed to help them – and it started with the throwing of a thousand virtual hexagons over Hull.

  • What’s Driving Re-Burns Across California and the West?

    Seasonal temperature, moisture loss from plants, and wind speed are what primarily drive fires that sweep across the same landscape multiple times, a new study reveals. As climate change sparks more new fires in old burn areas, understanding the underlying causes can help shape land management strategies.

  • Science and Supercomputers Help Utilities Adapt to Climate Change

    Northern Illinois traditionally enjoys four predictable seasons. But climate is changing, with big repercussions for the people who live in the region and the power grid that supports them.

  • Preparing to Be Prepared

    Even in a country like Japan, with advanced engineering, and policies in place to update safety codes, natural forces can overwhelm the built environment. Miho Mazereeuw, an architect of built and natural environments, looks for new ways to get people ready for natural disasters.

  • Forecasting Earthquakes That Get Off Schedule

    New model considers full history of a fault’s earthquakes to forecast next one. The new study by Northwestern University researchers will help earthquake scientists better deal with seismology’s most important problem: when to expect the next big earthquake on a fault.

  • A Changing Flood Recipe for Las Vegas

    A new study shows that urbanization and climate change are changing the strength and seasonality of flooding in the Las Vegas region. Flood managers have built an extensive system of drainage ditches and detention basins to protect the public, but this engineering projects and urban development are interacting with climate change to alter the timing and intensity of flood risk.

  • Extreme Storms and Flood Events Cause Damage Worth Billions to Ports – and They Are Most Disruptive to Small Island Developing States

    Shipping ports are crucial for the global economy. But ports, by their nature, are located in coastal areas or on large rivers and are exposed to natural hazards such as storms and floods as a result. Scientists refer to the physical damage caused by natural hazards and the monetary loss associated with port closures and reconstruction as “climate risks”. 1,340 of the world’s largest ports in terms of trade flow are vulnerable to climate risks.